After the Fall
by Bellantara
Summary: Actually a Golion story. The fallout of the destruction of Earth, and Raible's attempt to shoot down the team.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a little scene from Golion that popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. I may expand on it later; let me know what you think!

Second note: It occurred to me that not everyone knows Golion, and a list of names wouldn't be out of place.

Akira Kogane/Chief Keith

Takashi/Quiet Sven

Isamu Kurogane/Moody Lance

Raible Coran

Fala-hime Allura

Tsuyoshi Seidou/Hothead Hunk

Hiroshi Suzuishi/Chibi Pidge

Hys Nanny

Akira Kogane's arms screamed from the strain of controlling Golion during the fight, his ribs ached from being slammed against his controls, and he could still see the robeast's electricity dancing over his skin. More than that, he was exhausted and heartsick, the death of Earth playing over and over again in his mind. The images wouldn't let him sleep, badly as he needed it, and he found himself wandering the castle. Before he knew it, he was outside and up the hill, standing at Shirogane's grave. Slowly, with a care for his bruises, Kogane sank to his knees, running his fingers over the kanji characters of his best friend's name. "It's all gone, Quiet," he said softly. "Everything, everyone we ever knew. All gone." He bowed his head, letting his tears flow unchecked. "Fala-hime asked us to think of Altea as our home now, but it just isn't the same."

He flashed back to their lives on Earth, remembering meeting the others for the first time at the Fuji Space School. Moody in his leather jacket, sulking off to the side; Hothead talking reassuringly to a wide-eyed Chibi, who was so much younger than the rest of them. Then Quiet, older and already a student, had come in and taken charge. Over time, the five of them had become close friends, even getting to know each other's families. Kurogane's little brothers had barraged them with questions; Shirogane's sister had peeked around doorways at them, giggling shyly. In three years of training, they had almost become a family.

Then came the graduation exercise. Akira's fists clenched and his heart lurched as he remembered. Six months they'd spent in space, testing their flight and navigation skills. At last they had completed all their tests and started home, happily discussing the parties their families had planned. . . only to come into atmosphere and find Earth in ruins. They had been captured by the Galran forces before they could even think to look for their families, but had always nurtured the hope of going back to find them. Even when Shirogane died and was buried on Altea, it was understood that they would take him back to Earth one day. That dream had shattered when they returned to Earth that morning, only to realize the world was dead. The last hope had evaporated when they flew over their homes and saw them destroyed, walked into the Fuji School and saw skeletal remains everywhere.

From a distance, Kurogane watched as Kogane curled into a ball, clearly sobbing. Not for the first time, he cursed the war that had ravaged Earth, the war with Galra they'd been drawn into, and the stuffy aristocrats in Castle Gradam that seemed determined to rub their noses in their refugee status. He sighed and walked the rest of the way to Shirogane's grave, careful to make enough noise to alert Kogane to his presence. "Thought I saw you out here," he said quietly, kneeling beside Akira. "Talk to me, Chief."

"How much more do we have to lose?" Akira asked, wiping at his eyes. "Our families, our homes. . .our whole world. And what do we get in return?"

"I wish I knew," Kurogane sighed, settling into a seated position. "I'd say let's leave, to hell with Fala, Golion, and Altea, but. . . . "

"We don't have anywhere else to go," Kogane whispered, suddenly glad Moody had found him, and not one of the others. Even with Kurogane he didn't let his guard down completely, but he didn't have to. Kurogane could read him like no other ever could. "I have to talk to Raible tomorrow. He needs to understand. We were chosen to fly Golion; we chose to serve Altea and Fala. That doesn't mean we stopped being human, or having our own thoughts and desires."

Moody nodded. "Do you want me there with you?"

Akira started to say no, but reconsidered. He was still furious with the strategist, and if he lost control of that anger, Kurogane was the only one on the team with a hope of stopping him. "You probably should," he finally sighed. "I might kill him otherwise."

"Not so sure that wouldn't be a bad thing." The other man shifted his position, leaning back on his hands and looking out at the stars. "Chief, what's going on with Fala-hime? All that stuff Raible and Hys said, Raible trying to shoot us down, and she just stood there. I don't expect a woman to be very aggressive, but. . . I would have thought, after all we've been through, all we've done for her and Altea, that she would have said _something_!"

"You're too hard on her, Moody," Kogane countered softly. "She _is_ just a woman, after all, and little more than a child, at that. Be glad she found the strength of will to follow us to Earth when we needed her most." He stretched slowly, wincing as the motion pulled at his sore ribs. "Ne, there is nothing to be done. We promised to fight, and we will, if it costs us our lives. We owe it to Shirogane's memory."

Kurogane got to his feet, and offered a hand to his captain. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Come on, we should sleep to be ready for Raible tomorrow." The two of them walked back into Castle Gradam, determined to make the most of what fate had dealt them.


	2. Chapter 2

Kogane awoke early the next morning, as always, and went out to a private corner of the garden to do his Tai Chi and meditate. He took longer at it than usual; he was still angry with Raible, and desperately needed to regain his usual equilibrium before he saw the strategist. Going into the confrontation angry would accomplish nothing.

As he finished, Kurogane wandered out, still rumpled and sleepy, carrying two cups of coffee. "Thought you could use this, Chief," he yawned, holding one out. "You ready to talk to Raible?"

Akira took the cup and folded himself to the ground. "I believe so. I learned something else last night, something that made me almost as angry as yesterday."

Moody sat next to him. "Oh? What?"

"Golion. The whole story of him being lost, unavailable when Altea needed him most, then miraculously showing up when we did. . ." Kogane shook his head and took a sip of coffee. "It didn't ring true to me, so I went into the Castle archives last night and did some checking. He wasn't lost at all; they knew where he was the entire time. And the technology is such that ANYone can fly the lions, with little or no training."

"So why didn't they, when Galra first attacked?"

Kogane smiled grimly. "Because when you fly the lions, you get bonded to them. That's why it hurts so much when the lions take hits in battle. In a very real sense, YOU are taking the hit. And none of the Alteans, not even King Raimon, wanted to be burdened with that."

"And then we showed up. Five ragged Earth guys, with nothing to lose. And no one to miss us." Moody's lips parted in a silent snarl. "How fucking convenient for the bastards." He closed his eyes for a minute, calling on his sixth sense. "And the bond can't be broken, unless we die. So, what do we do, Chief?"

Akira sighed. "We gave our word, Moody. We will continue to fight. But, I intend to make it clear to Raible that things are going to change." He drank the last of his coffee and set the cup aside, looking up at the dawn sky. "I read a LOT about the Golion pilots last night. Historically, they were accorded as much honor and respect as the Monarch, maybe even more, because of the sacrifice that being a Golion pilot is."

Moody snorted. "Yeah, that's happening. Most of the time Raible and Hys look at us like we're the garbage collectors, if not the actual garbage."

"That will change. Starting today." Akira got to his feet. "Come on; let's go have breakfast, then a little talk with our friend the Strategist."

After breakfast, the two men found Raible lecturing Fala on Altean history. "Raible, a word with you," Kogane said, coolly polite.

The strategist looked up, barely concealing his contempt. "Now is not a good time, Kogane. I am busy."

"I honestly don't care. We will have this discussion NOW." Kogane locked eyes with the older man. "Yesterday was inexcusable. We have given everything we have for this world; Shirogane gave his life. Yet you and Hys continually treat us as though we are trash you found in the street. That ends now. Today. "

Raible was livid. "How DARE you speak to me in such fashion? You have no right—"

Akira cut him off. "I have every right. I am the commander of Golion, pilot of Black Lion. And last night I learned just exactly what that means." Raible looked away from him, face pale; Akira moved to intercept his gaze again.

"What are you talking about, Kogane?" Fala asked softly.

Akira didn't look away from Raible. "To be a Golion pilot is to be bonded with your lion. To feel every hit the lion takes in your own body. In former times, the Golion pilots were honored, nearly equal to the Monarch, for this sacrifice."

"And Raible knew when he handed us the keys that we'd never be able to leave Altea once the bond set in," Kurogane said from where he leaned against the wall.

"Oh, but it gets better," Kogane said grimly. "I did a lot of reading in the Royal Archives last night, Fala-hime. Your father and the other nobles knew exactly where Golion was; he was never lost. They just didn't want to subject themselves to the bond. So, they let Galra attack and never deployed Golion."

"Then we came along," Kurogane put in. "So very convenient, five drifters, no ties to anything. And Raible had his Golion pilots. Saviors of Altea when it suits him, garbage collectors when it doesn't."

Fala gasped. "Raible, is all of this true?"

Raible didn't answer; Kogane turned to look at the princess. "It's all in the Archives, Fala. I can show you exactly where. Raible knew every bit of it."

"I see." The princess stood up and faced her advisor. "Raible, as Kogane said, this ends now. You WILL treat Kogane and the others with the respect they have more than earned. They will come and go as they please, and if I hear any more disparaging comments such as you made yesterday, you WILL be dismissed. Am I clear?"

Raible blinked at the ice in Fala's voice. "Yes, Fala-hime. Kogane, I apologize. I had no right to act as I did."

Kogane nodded curtly, then turned and walked out, Kurogane close behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

At lunch, after practice, Kogane and Kurogane filled Seidou and Suzuishi in on what they had learned about Golion and the bonds between themselves and their lions.

Hothead, predictably, was livid. "You mean we've risked our lives all this time, when they could have done it themselves and just didn't?"

Kogane nodded; Kurogane leaned back in his chair with a shrug. "Why put your own life on the line, when Providence provides you with five disposable ones?"

Chibi growled softly. "Bastards. Sounds like the generals on Earth, risking others' lives with their war while they sat safe in a bunker."

"Well, it ends now." Kogane looked around at his teammates. "They need us far more than we need them, bond or no bond. Fala-hime has told Raible that we are to be treated with the honor and respect the Lion Knights have traditionally had."

"Good. I hope she makes it stick," Seidou growled. "Even for a woman, she has no spine around him."

Hys sniffed from where she was serving. "Lion Knights, indeed."

"Is there a problem, Ms. Hys?" Kurogane's voice was soft and polite, but there was no mistaking the menace in it.

"Yes, there's a problem!" the older woman snapped. "The Lion Knights were honorable men, worthy of the honor and respect they were given. You ungrateful hoodlums don't deserve that kind of ranking!"

"I see." Kurogane's voice was still soft, but his jaw had tightened and his eyes narrowed. "Even though we've risked our lives—Shirogane _gave_ his life—for Altea, we still aren't good enough."

Hys scowled. "You are homeless drifters. Why the Lions bonded with the likes of _you_, I will never understand. And you are far too familiar with the Princess; she is above your station!"

"That will do, Hys!" Fala stood in the doorway, fire in her eyes. "I told Raible, and I will tell you; Kurogane and the others have earned your respect; you WILL grant it. They will come and go as they please, and I WILL give them the honors due to the Lion Knights."

Hys gasped. "Such impertinence! _This_ is what comes of associated with these—these ruffians! I must teach you a lesson!" She moved to take Fala over her knee, as she had done so many times before; Fala stepped out of her reach.

"You will do no such thing. I am no longer a child for you to correct; you will respect me as your ruler, or be dismissed from this Castle." Hys sputtered at the pronouncement; Kogane and Kurogane slipped around her to stand on either side of Fala, silently making their support of her clear. Seidou and Suzuishi quickly took up positions on either side of them. Fala looked at them all gratefully, then turned back to Hys, eyes cold and voice steely. "Now. This is how things are to be. Kogane and the others have made a sacrifice that not even my own father was willing to make. They have taken on the Lion bond, with all that entails, and risk their lives on a daily basis for a world not even their own. I will do this formally later, but for now. . ." She turned to the men. "Kogane Akira, Kurogane Isamu, Seidou Tsuyoshi, Suzuishi Hiroshi. As Princess of Altea, I hereby name you Lion Knights of Altea, with all the rights and privileges thereof."

Kogane moved first, kneeling and taking her hand as he had in the old castle that first day—had it really been only a few months before? "Arigato, Fala-hime. I pledge my life, my heart's blood to your service. I swear I will die to defend you, and to defend Altea."

"As do I." Kurogane knelt as Kogane stood, making the same pledge; Suzuishi and Seidou did the same in turn.

"This is impossible!" Hys fumed. "They—they are peasant-born! The Lion Knights were of the nobility! You cannot do this, Fala!"

"I can and I have." Fala's voice was quiet and firm. "And as for nobility. . . these men have shown time and again that they are noble of spirit, if not of blood. They are true Lion Knights."

Hys threw up her hands and swept out, glowering at the boys and muttering as she passed them. "She's going to be trouble," Suzuishi predicted with a sigh.

"Let her." Fala's jaw was set. "I meant what I said. If she cannot treat the four of you with the respect you have more than earned, I WILL dismiss her from the Castle. This ends NOW."

Kurogane looked at her for a minute, then slowly began clapping. "I've waited for you to do this since the old woman came back to the Castle," he drawled. "As you said, YOU are ruler here, not Hys and not Raible. Well done, Fala-hime."

The others nodded and applauded; Fala blushed. "Thank you, all of you. I would not be able to do it without your help."

"And you will always have that help," Kogane said softly.


	4. Chapter 4

_-Two years later_

The whispers and murmurs had circulated all through the celebrations the day before, and Fala finally decided to see for herself if they were true. Quietly she walked through the Castle to the team's corridor, stopping in surprise when she saw all four of their bedroom doors open. "So it's true," she whispered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I wonder if they were going to tell me?"

In his bedroom, Kogane paused at a noise. Looking out into the hall, he heaved a purely internal sigh at one of his least favorite sights; a crying Fala-hime. Setting down the clothing he was carrying, he walked out to her. "Hime. . . I was going to come find you in a bit. We need to talk. . ."

"You're leaving." It was a statement, not a question, and Kogane could only nod. "Why haven't any of you said anything? Why are you going?"

Kogane led her into the rec room and sat her down before answering, noting that Kurogane had seen and followed them. "We've been trying to tell you for weeks. But there was always an interruption. As to why. . ." he took a deep breath. "Your court is returning. Princes are going to be coming to court you. Castle Gradam is no longer a place where four no-name drifters are going to be welcome, regardless of what title you give them."

"But more than that," Kurogane put in quietly, coming and sitting across from her. "We . . . we're on show here. Always expected to be the heroic Lion Knights, devoted to the service of Her Majesty. And that's not who we are. We're just . . . men, Fala-hime. Tired men, who need some time away. Everything, everyone we used to know is gone; one of our brothers and his brother lie buried on the hill, and we haven't even had a chance to mourn any of that. Beyond that. . ." he shook his head. "As Kogane said. There is no real place for us in a peaceful Castle Gradam. I've seen the looks the nobles give us when they think we do not see. If we stay . . . it would only be a matter of time before one of us lost our tempers, and Altea doesn't need that. YOU don't need that. So we're leaving now."

Fala looked from one pilot to the other, tears streaming down her face. "No. . .please don't leave. I. . . I'll make them treat you with more respect, like I did Hys and Raible."

"You can't, Hime," Kogane said gently. "Oh, you can order them, and they will, to our faces and in your presence. Behind the scenes, though, the resentment will only worsen. This is for the best, Fala-hime. Trust me."

"I do trust you, Kogane. I just. . ." she sniffled. "This castle won't be the same without the four of you; I'll miss you!"

"No you won't," Kurogane said softly. "You're going to have a whole different life now, the one you should have had to begin with. There's no time, no room in that for four drifters from a destroyed planet. Better that we go live in the village."

"We need lives of our own as well," Kogane put in. "For three years, we've done nothing but fight and catch our breaths between fights. Suizuishi is only 14; I don't dare put him in class with children his age, but . . . he needs a bit of normalcy. Time to let his guard down and just be a child, if he still can."

"And aside from him. . ." Kurogane wore an uncharacteristically vulnerable look, all his sarcasm gone. "We didn't think we'd survive the Galra arena . . . now that we survived the war, I know I would like to find a girl, settle down . . . and I also know I cannot do that here. Not if I want a girl who loves Kurogane Isamu instead of the Red Lion Knight."

Kogane recaptured Fala's attention. "I cannot speak for Seidou, but . . . I feel as Kurogane does. And agree with him that it is impossible in Castle Gradam. We are not men here; we are plaster idols on pedestals. If we want a normal life, it has to be outside the Castle walls."

The princess finally nodded. "You both make very good arguments, though I dispute that I will not miss the four of you. I know you did not ask for it, but . . . you have the blessing of the Crown, and of a girl named Fala."

The pilots exchanged a glance, then knelt on either side of her. "This does not change our bonds, or our promise to you, Fala-hime," Kurogane said, gently taking her hand. "When Golion is needed again, we will be here."

Kogane nodded in confirmation. "As we did before, so we do again. We pledge our lives to defend you, and Altea. We just need to leave now."

"We make the same pledge." The three in the room looked up to see Chibi and Hothead standing in the doorway; as Kogane and Kurogane stood, Seidou and Suizuishi took their places, kneeling and renewing their vow of just three years earlier. The missing presence in the room ached, and there were more than a few tears falling at the thought of the fallen Shirogane brothers.

A short while later, the four Earth men headed for the front door of the castle, each carrying a bag with their few possessions, happily talking about the house they had rebuilt for themselves in the village and their plans for the future. A dark shadow fell over those plans as they found the strategist blocking the door. "You aren't going anywhere!" the older man scowled.

Seidou flushed angrily, and was prevented from blowing up only by Kogane's hand on his arm. "You have no authority to keep us here, Raible," the young leader said quietly. "The war is finished, we have Fala-hime's blessing to leave. Please stand aside."

Raible didn't budge. "She had no authority to do that. You are servants of Altea, bonded to the lions. You cannot leave."

"Watch us." Suizuishi went to walk past him, only to go flying as the older man caught him off guard with a strong backhand.

The older three pilots growled; Kogane stepped forward. "She has every authority to do so. And you have NO right to strike ANY of us." He looked the strategist over. "It is well for you that my honor will not allow me to strike an elder."

The strategist was livid. "You ungrateful ruffians! Altea took you in, sheltered and cared for you when you had nowhere else to turn! You should be begging to stay here and serve the Crown forever, to repay your debt!"

Kurogane stepped forward, a dangerous light in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was low and full of menace. "That debt has more than been repaid, with our blood and the Shiroganes' lives. How DARE you insult that." He glared at Raible for a minute; the strategist glared right back. "You know, I am by no means as honorable a man as Chief, and you have had this due for a long time." With no more warning than that, Moody slammed his right fist into Raible's jaw, knocking the older man several feet clear of the door. Kurogane then picked his bag up and walked out without a backwards glance, closely followed by Kogane. Seidou gathered his and Chibi's bags in one hand, Chibi himself in the other arm, and strode out behind his teammates, cursing softly when his boot slipped and connected with Raible's ribs on the way out the door.

Fala watched from her window, determined not to cry, as the four Earth men left Castle Gradam. Kurogane's promise echoed in her mind, "When Golion is needed again, we will be here." As they faded from view, she took a deep breath and turned away, ready to use the strength they had shown her to forge a new, peaceful Altea.


End file.
